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Better Homes and Blue Boxing
Part iii
Advanced Signalling
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(It is assumed that the reader has read and understood parts i & ii before
proceeding to this part).
In parts i & ii, I covered basic theory and domestic singalling and operators.
In this part I will explain overseas direct boxing, the IOCC, the RQS, and some
basic scanning methods.
Overseas Direct Boxing.
Calling outside of the United States and Canada is accomplished by using an
"overseas gateway." There are 7 over- seas gateways in the Bell System, and each
one is designated to serve a certain region of the world. To initiate an
overseas call, one must first access the gateway that the call is to be sent on.
To do this auto- matically, decide which country you are calling and find its
country code. Then, pad it to the left with zeros as required so it is three
digits. (Add 1, 2, or 3 zeros as required).
Examples:
Luxembourg (352) is 352 (stays the same)
Spain (34) becomes 034 (1 zero added)
U.S.S.R. (7) becomes 007 (2 zeros added)
Next, seize a trunk and dial KP+011+ CC+ST. Note that CC is the three digit
padded country code that you just determined by the above method. [For
Luxembourg, dial KP+011+352+ST, Spain KP+011+034+ST, and the U.S.S.R. KP+011+
007+ST]. This is done to route you to the appropriate overseas gateway that
handles the country you are dialing. Even though every gateway will allow you
to dial every dialable country, it is good practice to use the gateway that is
designated for the country you are calling. After dialing KP+011+CC+ST (as CC
is defined above) you should be connected to an overseas gateway. It will
acknowledge by sending a wink (which is audible as a and a dial
tone. Once you receive internat- ional dial tone, you may route your call one
of two ways: a) as an operator-originated call, or b) as a customer-originated
call. To go as a operator-originated call, key KP+ country code (NOT padded
with zeros)+ city code+number+ST. You will then be connected, providing the
country you are calling can receive direct-dialed calls. The U.S.S.R. is an
example of a country that cannot.
Example of a boxed int'l call:
To make a call to the Pope (Rome, Italy), first obtain the country code, which
is 39. Pad it with zeros so that it is 039. Seize a trunk and dial
KP+011+039+ST. Wait for sender dial tone and then dial KP+39+6+6982+ST. 39 is
the country code, 6 is the city code, and 6982 is the Pope's number in Rome. To
go as an operator-originated call, simply place a zero in front of the country
code when dialing on the gateway. Thus, KP+0+39+6+6982+ST would be dialed at
sender dial tone. Routing your call as operator-originated does not affect much
unless you are dialing an operator in a foreign country To dial an operator in a
foreign country, you must first obtain the operator routing from rate & route
for that country. Dial rate & route and if you're trying to get an operator in
Yugoslavia, say nicely, "IOTC Operator's route, please, for Yugoslavia." [In
larger countries it may be necessary to specify a city]. Rate & route will
respond with, "38 plus 11029". So, dial your overeas gateway, KP+011+038+ST,
wait for sender dial tone, and key KP+0+38+ 11029+ST. You should then get an
operator in Yugoslavia. Note that you must prefix the country code on the
sender with a 0 because presumably only an operator here can dial an operator in
a foreign country. When you dial KP+011+CC+ST for an overseas gateway, it is
translated to a 3-digit sender code of the format 18X, depending on which sender
is designated to handle the country you are dialing. The overseas gateways and
their 3-digit codes are listed below.
182 ..... White Plains, NY
183 ..... New York, NY
184 ..... Pittsburg, PA
185 ..... Orlando, FL
186 ..... Oakland, CA
187 ..... Denver, CO
188 ..... New York, NY
Dialing KP+182+ST would get you the sender in White Plains, and KP+183+ST
would get the sender in NYC, etc., but the KP+011+CC+ST is highly suggested (as
previously mentioned).To find out what sender you were routed to after dialing
KP+011+CC+ST, dial (at int'l dial tone): KP+0000000+ST.
If you have difficulty in reaching a sender, call rate and route and ask for a
numbers route for the country you're dialing. Sometimes, KP+011+ padded country
code+ST will not work. I have found this in many 3-digit country codes.
Lexembourg, country code 352, for example, should be KP+011+352+ST
theoretically. But it is not. In this case, dial KP+011+ 003+ST for the
overseas gateway. If you have trouble, try dialing KP+00+ first digit of
country code+ST, or call rate The IOCC.
Sometimes when you call rate and route and ask for an "IOTC numbers route" or
"IOTC operators route" for a foreign country, you will get something like
"160+700" (as in the case of the Soviet Union). This means that the country is
not dialable directly and must be handled through the International Overseas
Completion Centre (IOCC). For an IOCC routing, pad the country code to the
RIGHT with zeros until it is 3 digits. Then KP+160 is dialed, plus the padded
country code, plus ST.
Examples:
The U.S.S.R. (7) ...... KP+160+700+ST
Japan (81) ............ KP+160+810+ST
Uraguay (598) ......... KP+160+598+ST
You will then be routed to the IOCC in Pittsburg, PA, who will ask for
country, city, and number being dialed. Many times they will ask for a ringback
[thanks to Telenet Bob] so have a loop ready. They will then place the call and
call you back (or sometimes put you through directly). Some calls, such as to
Moscow, take several hours.
The Rate Quote System (RQS).
The RQS is the operator's rate/quote system. It is a computer used by TSPS
(0+) operators to get rate and route information without having to dial the rate
and route operator. In Part ii, I discussed getting an inward routing for
dialing-assistance and emergency interrupts from the rate and route operators
(KP+800+141+1212+ST). The same information is available from RQS. Say you want
the inward routing for 305-994. You would sieze a trunk and dial KP+009+ST (to
access the RQS). Sometimes, if you seize a trunk in an NPA not equipped with
RQS, you need to dial an NPA that is equipped with RQS first, such as 303.
Anyway, after you dial KP+009+ST or KP+303+009+ST, you will receive a wink
() and then RQS dial tone. At RQS dial tone, for an inward
routing for 305-994 you would dial KP+06+305+994+ST. That is,
KP+06+NPA+exchange+ST. RQS will respond with "305 plus 033 plus".
This means you would dial KP+305+033+121+ST for an inward that services
305-994. If no special routing were required, RQS would have responded with
"305 plus" and you would simply dial: KP+305+121+ST for an inward. Another RQS
feature is the echo feature. You can use it to test your blue box. Dial RQS
(KP+009+ST) and then key KP+07+1234567890+ST. RQS will respond with voice
identification of the digits it recognized, between the KP+07 and ST. RQS can
also be used for rates and directory routings, but those are seldom needed, so
they have been omitted here.
Simple Scanning.
If you're interested in scanning, try dialing on a trunk, routings in the
format of KP+11XX1+ST. Begin with 11001 and scan to 11991. There are lots of
interesting things to be found there, as Doctor Who (413 area) can tell you.
Those 11XX1 routings can also be prefixed with an NPA, so if you want to scan
area code 212, dial KP+212+ 11XX1+ST.
There, now you know as much about blue boxing as most phreaks. If you read
and understand the material, and put aside preconceived ideas of what blue
boxing is that you may have aquired from inexperienced people or other bulletin
boards, you should be well on you way to an enlightening career in blue boxing.
If you follow the guidelines in Part i to box, you should have no problem with
the fone company. Comments made by "phreaks" on bulletin boards that proclaim
"tracing" of blue boxers are nonsense and should be ignored (except for a
passing chuckle).
NOTE 1: CCIS and the downfall of blue boxing.
CCIS stands for Common Channel Inter- office Signalling. It is a signalling
method used between electronic switching systems that eminiates the use of
2600Hz and 3700Hz supervisory signals, and MF pulsing. This is why many places
cannot be boxed off of; they employ CCIS, or out-of-band signalling, which will
not respond to any tones that you generate on the line. Eventually, all
existing toll equipment will be upgraded or replaced with CCIS or T-carrier. In
this case, we'll all be boxing with microwave dishes. Until then (about 1995 by
current BOC/AT&T estimates), have fun!
If you have ANY questions about this text, please feel free to drop me a line.
I will respond to all mail, messages, etc. Insults are also welcomed. And if
you discover anything interesting scanning, be sure to let me know.
Mark Tabas
$LOD$
This text was prepared in full by Mark Tabas for:
K.A.O.S.
Philadelphia, PA.
[xxx-xxx-xxxx].
Any sysop may freely download this text and use it on his/her BBS, provided
that none of it be altered in any way.
Technical acknowledgements:
Karl Marx, X-Man, High-Rise Joe, Telenet Bob, Lex Luthor, TUC, John Doe,
Doctor Who (413 area), The Tone Sweep, Mr. Silicon, K00L KAT, The Glump.
References:
1. Notes on the BOC Intra-LATA Networks
Bell System publication, 1983.
2. Notes on the Network
Bell System publication, 1983.
3. Engineering and Operations in the
Bell System
Bell System publication, 1983.
4. Notes on Distance Dialing
Bell System publication, 1968.
5. Early Medieval Architecture.
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